Legal Commentary

Dan Maes Retracts Claims He Worked Undercover

By Jeralyn

Colorado Republican gubernatorial candidate (and Tea Party Fave) Dan Maes admitted today his claim that he worked undercover on a gambling and drug investigation while a police officer in Liberal, KS, which led to his firing, was either technically inaccurate or false. Here's what he wrote on his website:

"At one point in my 2 years there I was place (sic) undercover by the Kansas Bureau of Investigations (sic) to gather information inside a bookmaking ring that was also allegedly selling drugs. I got too close to some significant people in the community who were involved in these activities and abruptly was dismissed from my position. I was blindsided and stunned to say the least."

Normally, this wouldn't interest me much. But, the reason he was fired has not been disclosed and his personnel records are not public. And the KS law enforcement folks insist there's no record of Maes working on a gambling or drug investigation, undercover or otherwise. Nor can any who are still there recall him doing so. Plus, the former police chief of Liberal says his department never worked on such an investigation for the KS Bureau of Investigation. [More...]

So now I'm wondering if Maes was fired because he was hanging out with the suspects and when confronted, he claimed to be getting info on them to help the police. Which of course they didn't buy. You see it in drug cases all the time, where a defendant charged with selling drugs says he thought he was acting as an informant for the cops and what he was doing is legal. It's a defense that rarely works.

Maes' latest explanation:

"Those comments might have been incorrect comments," Maes said. Who wrote them on the website?

"Whoever typed it, typed it. That's all I've got to say," Maes said, before referring questions to his campaign spokesman. Later, his spokesman, Nate Strauch, confirmed that Maes had written the comments.

Here's a screengrab of his website.

Another bad idea on Maes' part: Comparing himself to fired ICE Agent Cory Voorhis. Voorhis was acquitted, but what he did (which his lawyers admitted in pleadings, but claimed he didn't act unlawfully), accessing a private law enforcement database for information that would discredit a political candidate to give to his opponent, still stinks.

Maes has little chance of beating Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper in November, so he's not worth too much ink, but now I am curious as to why he was fired.

Full post as published by TalkLeft on September 01, 2010 (boomark / email).